Donald Trump is one of the most well-recognized billionaires in the world. He is the proud endorser of ACN, a company many regard as a pyramid selling scam. Why is this reputable business giant proclaiming his love for a company which has seemingly conned thousands of people out of their hard earned cash? Is it for the money, or does Trump truly believe in ACN? Back To The Top

Who Is Donald Trump?

Trump was born in 1946 has made his name and fortune primarily in the real-estate industry. He owns many properties across the United States, such as hotels, holiday resorts and golf courses. Trump has also become somewhat of a celebrity following the success of his television series “The Apprentice”, and recent appearances with World Wrestling Entertainment. All of these activities have made Trump a very rich man, with Forbes estimating his net worth to be $2bn. Back To The Top

Why Choose Trump?

Donald Trump is the ideal person to endorse ACN. He is an incredibly successful entrepreneur, and the majority of his wealth has come from his own hard work and personal business ventures. He is an internationally recognized figure, giving him global appeal.

He represents success, wealth and is a figure of aspiration. ACN are telling you: if you work hard with our company, you can be as successful as Donald Trump. Back To The Top

Celebrity Endorsements

Marketers have used celebrities to endorse their brands and businesses for decades. Celebrities are a figure with whom the public can trust and aspire to be like. By using a well known and much loved celebrity, the company is hoping that all positive associations with the celebrity will automatically be passed onto the product.

When celebrities endorse products it’s usually due to one or more of the following factors:

They need the money

They need the media exposure

They need to change their current image

They truly believe in the product/business

So what’s Donald Trump’s reason for endorsing ACN?

This is a good question. Let’s go through each point before making our mind up. Back To The Top

Is Donald Trump Endorsing ACN Because He Needs The Money?

ACN claim that their “annual revenues have skyrocketed to over half a billion” meaning that they do have the resources to pay Trump a large enough figure to make it worth his while. The amount Trump receives is undisclosed, but I am guessing it is in the millions. Considering Trump’s already staggering wealth, an extra million or two probably isn’t enough to entice him to put his name on something he doesn’t believe in. He has his status, image and reputation to consider. If Trump were to endorse a product or business that was shown to be dodgy or fraudulent, he would risk highly damaging his reputation, which could have long term repercussions on his career. The likelihood of Trump endorsing a potentially career ruining company for a few million is quite unlikely.

For example, actress Eva Mendes fronted PETA’s anti-fur campaign “Fur? I’d rather go naked” indicating that no matter how much she was paid, she would not endorse a designer or brand that used animal fur. If she later wore fur because she was paid a high sum, her reputation would go downhill, and she would lose all integrity.

So is Donald Trump simply endorsing ACN for the money? Probably not. No doubt the money does make it an enticing opportunity, but Trump is far from broke, and when much more is at stake, such as his business integrity, money isn’t the most important thing. Back To The Top

Is Donald Trump Endorsing ACN To Boost His Current Image?

It is very common for a celebrity to start endorsing a brand when they feel the public has started to forget who they are. However this is not the case for Donald Trump. With a new series of “The Apprentice” starting on September 16, and the well publicized new golf resort in Scotland, Trump is still very much a public figure.

He is very much in the public eye, and so he probably has to be cautious of every decision he makes in order to protect his image. One bad choice could negatively effect his public image. Anyone remember David Hasslehoff’s drunken cheeseburger?

Much of Trump’s celebrity image comes from his popular television shows “The Apprentice” and it’s spin off “Celebrity Apprentice”. If the show was to lose credibility , this would inevitably rub off on Trump, who’s image would also decline somewhat.

ACN appeared on Trump’s popular television show “Celebrity Apprentice” in March 2009, in which contestants had to present a sales pitch for the Iris 3000 Videophone in front of ACN reps. ACN and their products played a dominant role in this particular episode, with a large amount of prime airtime dedicated to the company. Allowing a company to have such a strong input on his show is risky. If the company was found to be a scam, the show would loose credibility.

The two shows also help to boost NBC’s ratings. This author assumes that NBC would not allow a controversial company to have such a prominent role in “Celebrity Apprentice” if they thought it could damage the show’s reputation, their ratings, and ultimately their advertising prices. Back To The Top

Is Donald Trump Endorsing ACN Because He Needs A New Image?

Endorsing can be an effective way of changing a celebrity’s public image. For example, a singer trying to escape her squeaky clean image could endorse a heavy liquor.

Donald Trump may be trying to change his public image, which might explain his appearances in the WWE Ring. However, if he is trying to change his image by endorsing ACN then, he really isn’t doing a good job. ACN is a successful business, Donald Trump is a successful businessman. There is a clear congruence between the business and the endorser, and so this endorsement deal makes logical sense. Back To The Top

Is Donald Trump Endorsing ACN Because He Truly Believes In The Business?

Trump has made many promotional material for ACN, such as this video:

More videos can be found here. He claims to truly believe in the product, and in the business model. He trusts the founders (Greg Provenzano, Mike Cubitz, Tony Cubitz and Robert Stevanovski), and thinks of them as great business men, and close friends. Not only does he film promotional material, he is also a regular speaker at ACN conferences/training seminars.

It is entirely possible that Donald Trump is lying, and does not believe these things. Some people have accused Trump of being nothing more than an actor, and is only promoting ACN because he is paid to. It is worth noting, however, that even actors turn down roles that they believe will be detrimental to their career, despite the high salaries on offer.

Given the high level of involvement Trump has with ACN promotions, and what damage could be done to his reputation if this is proved fraudulent, this author does not believe Trump is lying in his promotional material. Back To The Top

So, Does Donald Trump REALLY Endorse ACN?

Does Donald Trump really endorse ACN? This author believes so. A powerful, successful man such as Trump would not waste his time and energy promoting a business he did not truly believe in. Sure, he is getting paid, but let’s face it, a couple of million to Trump is probably the equivalent of $50 to me and you. In this scenario, Trump has more to loose than to gain from endorsing ACN (reputation, status, integrity), and so I believe Donald Trump truly believes in ACN, and his endorsement is entirely genuine. Back To The Top

[…] The company specializes in telecommunication services, such as mobile and internet services. They also offer cutting edge services such as video phones, and digital phone services (VoIP). ACN have appeared on The Celebrity Apprentice, and are endorsed and supported by billionaire Donald Trump. […]

[…] ACN Review: Can Marketers Capitalize?By admin on March 22, 2011 With an encore appearance on Donald Trump’s Celebrity Appearance set for late March, 2011, ACN is poised for yet another PR boost. With a reach […]

ACN required $499 for sign up fee. Going to work for a company and you have to pay it $499. $499 is paying for the bonuses of all the TOP guys. It is not for me, even though I am doing COLD CALLING for my mortgage business.

Look, I’m not going to go into my experience too much, but as a recent college grad about to embark on my Master’s Degree, fact is that I paid $499 2 months ago and I’ve already made $1800, and I’ve yet to start getting my residual checks. I love the business and enjoy the networking aspect. I’ve saved my loved ones over $3000 per year (out of 4 family members), and I’m glad I made that difference in their lives. For a part time gig? I love it, and it sharpens my skills. Those bashing this company need to wake up and realize the future isn’t being a company man/woman. Be your own boss.

Thanks Ian,
I am looking to join the ACN family later this month and it’s good to have a testimonial like yours to reinforce my decision. I am not only looking to save my family and friends money, but also myself. I pay a staggering amount in internet, cable and land line charges and going through ACN I will be cutting that by 1/2. Thanks again and good luck to you!!

Hi Ian
I have been offered the opportunity to join ACN a few days ago and I believe I have decided that I will join, but I have many unanswered questions that maybe you would be able to help me with. Have you gotten any complaints from customers in regards to any of the services, especially land-line / cell service, internet…i’ve been reading complaints of poor connections or cut offs. Also as sucsessful ACN IBO, can you offer any tips or advise….I would really love to hear from you It would help in me a great deal you can contact me at moc.l1481303877iamg@148130387727ird1481303877a1481303877) :))

A lot of the questions in this article are irrelevant, just as ACN’s sales pitches are irrelevant to the subject being pitched. It’s the irrelevancy that deviates the victim from the truth.

Irrelevancy like, “How many people do you know use cell phones? Everybody right? ACN understands this, and is capitalizing on the market, be a part of ACN, and lets capitalize on this market together”

I had a ACN person tell me the other day “I’m so glad I’m in the energy business” , I asked ‘you’re in the energy business?’ , she stated Yes, “I’m in ACN” . I said “Doesn’t ACN just re-sell energy from the vendors”… Blank stare…….

ACN is a business. period. It is also a church-like organization that maintains it’s members by re-inforcing them with a positive atmosphere and blind-trust. Many members enjoy the company of new friends, and like being surrounded by positivity. I know people that have lost money that are still in ACN after years, because they’ve built friends.

If you think Donald Trump ‘believes’ in this product you need to smarten up. Donald Trump is a very smart guy. He’s got a lot of expertise. He doesn’t ‘believe’ anything.. Donald Trump ‘knows’ he can capitalize on the MLM market by buying into it.

Let me talk to you about business shares Judy. You’re not asking the right questions. A business share could be treated as a percentage in a company. If you buy a share at $100 and the business does well, the price of the share will go up, hence you will have more money. It’s not a bi-weekly paycheque Trump is collecting, he is much smarter than that. He would buy a percentage of the company and leverage his celebrity status to boost the companies revenue. It’s a guaranteed 101 Investment for him. He’s not making just a few million from.. But 100’s of millions. or even billions from increasing the price of the share.

The team leaders make their money from the poor people that pay the $499 to sign up plus renewal charges, plus marketing kit charges. They just keep new blood coming through the system and taking their money.

Truth be told all comments directed towards ACN are just opinion unless you have actually been in ACN and done the work. I’ve been building ACN very part time for almost 2yrs. I bonused over 10k in 2011. Again very part time around a 80-100 work week. The residual income covers my sports car and insurance payments. So I’m proof if your consistant, and don’t quit. You can build a great extra income steam. I’m now selling my business of 20yrs, to focus all my efforts on my ACN business. I’m surrounded by friends in ACN making multiple 5-figure monthly incomes. People never post about the positive results, only their opinions or sob stories after they quit before ever putting in a real effort. I believe ACN is going to proove to the world in time how great it is. You’d be wise to jump in now and take advantage of the deregulation of energy.

Steve, Email me a picture of your 10k in cheques or bank deposits (or any type of picture proof that will display date, amount, and name correctly) for the month you made this comission and I’ll sign up under you. You have my word.

Ande I’m sorry but even if I sent you a copy of a check this wouldn’t mean u or anyone else will just make money with out putting in the work. There’s no such thing as get ritch quick. Like any business ACN takes allot of work. A good friend of mine is a Regional Director at age 21. He’s maxed out his bones the last two months stait! He also works ACN now 2 yrs and full time. 6-7 days per week. The RD bonuses maxed added up to 55k monthly. You don’t have to believe me, and as I said. He works his butt off for it. Look up his parents Jennifer & Darin Dowd. That’s who I’m working with. If you honestly want the details I’d be more than happy to set up a live webinar so you can get 100% of the business overview & all your questions asked.

Which part of my email did I indicate that simply seeing a cheque means I would make money? Now that would be pretty idiotic. I’m simply asking you for proof that you made what you said you made. Hey it’s a pretty easy sale. Send me proof, and I’ll sign up.

Let me tell you and everyone else what exactly is going on here. MLM, or ‘pyramid schemes’ is based on a model that uses a distributed money-transfer method to make money by asking other people for money. It works quite well if you’re able to convince enough people to give you money. Companies wrap the scheme around a product in order to avoid and litigation(ACN’s flagship video phone went bankrupt, now they’re just a utility reseller).

MLM Sales person: Hey Joe, tell ya what. If you give me $500. I’ll let you ask other people for $500 to give to me. If your good at it, I’ll let you keep some of the money, and if your really good at it, you can make some money.

Since this business model sucks, they invest emotion into the product. They maintain positivity throughout all seminars, and business dealings, and ensue the next victim, by consistently stating exaggerated business rewards. The drop-out rate in MLM and especially ACN is over 90% (google it).

People like Steve are lying to you all the time, they don’t make what they say they make, its simply to get you to sign-up, and working under them so they can make more money. It’s that simple.

Can you make money, sure you can. At the expense of dignity.

Wake up and get a real job. And feel free to send me proof of your ACN bonus, I would love to see it.

Andre, its obvious you are ignorant on network marketing. I suggest anyone looking at ACN or any direct sales company. To buy a book, and educate yourself what network marketing truly is. You see you have people like Andre that have no idea. Just their imagination what the business model is about.
Let me clarify a couple things. No one in ACN makes any money unless customers for the services we offer are squirrel. The $499. That you speak of goes directly to the company. I have never accepted or gotten any money from someone starting ACN. On the other hand, I follow our 20yr proven model. I devote my time to helping my business partners learn the services, so that can acquire customers. What are customers??? Let me enlighten you. A customer would be anyone looking to get TV… Direct TV, dish network, AT&T, time warner, ect, or wireless such as T-mobile, Verizon, Sprint, Nextel, ACN own company Flash wireless that uses Sprint and Verizon towers, how bout home security, like ADT, or Vivant, or Comcast internet, Charter, vengeful link, and the brand new ACN touch screen Video phone works awesome and is amazing. So not sure where Andre got his poor intell. But he’s wrong on all accounts. Fact is 23 governments approved ACN to do business in there country. Fact is Donald Trumps lawyers and legal team probably has alittle more resources than you Andre. It’s easy to go posting rants on post online. And I’m sure u believe what you thing you know. One more fact. Anyone can sign up for ACN, get a multi million dollar daily updated store, loaded with most every service in everyone’s house hold across American. And all they have to be willing to do is learn the services, go to trainings, let me or someone help them to get it right. And like me. They can be earning 10% back residualy, month after month after month for as long as the customer stays current on their bills. I didn’t even mention ENERGY. Not only is ACN the largest direct sells in a 2 Trillion $ Telecom industry. ACN also has the largest foot print in a 600 Billion dollar ENERGY industry. Which ACN cofounders beleave in the next 10yrs will take ACNs billion dollar per year annual revenue to 50billion. Hey the less that join ACN would actually make it sweeter for those of us out getting energy customers…lol but there’s plenty of potential customers. Not to mention only 14 states have been deregulated so far for ACN to sell energy. Government says by 2015 all states have to deregulate their energy companies. So there it is. As for you Andre. Calling me out on posting checks. Well that is illegal. I could loose my position in ACN if I went around showing copies of my checks. BTW, the checks show up weekly, not one huge one every month. For anyone reading. Only thing you need to know if your in ACN or plan to start. Bring your work ethic, your desire. If you take it serious and treat your ACN business like you would any other traditional business. You’ll start getting new customers and your residual checks will start showing up every month those customers pay their bills. If your lucky to live in a state that’s already selling Electricity. Get to work. Don’t let anyone or anything stop you. Over the next few years, quoting Waren Buffet. “Energy deregulation will cause the largest transfer of wealth in history.”. You can buy into peoples negative opinions, which you’ll be buying into their life style. Or get with someone that’s been in ACN long enough to show you the facts. ACN has been written up in numerous business publications. Wall street journal, inc., Fortune, Success, Success from home cover to cover the past 7 yrs strait!!! Suggestion, Google is the bathroom wall. More peoples opinions, than facts. It’s your future so do the real research. You can watch some videos & read up on ACN in any of the 23 counties by going to http://www.ACNinc.com

FYI this article is dated. The picture of the video phone was 3 versions ago. The newest one ACN released just a couple months ago, looks more like a IPad. Touch screen, apps, text and email. It’s BADD ASS & wi-Fi built in!

I’m not sure how the new touch phone is ‘awesome’ and ‘amazing’. Just like the last phone that went bankrupt, it requires two people to have the same phone, when everyone nowadays uses a cell phone or tablet, why would anyone want a land-line phone! The phone is a product-wrap gimmick. The last phone was nearly the same and went bankrupt (link at bottom of post).
Be careful with your terminology. Governments did not ‘approve’ the ACN business. ACN simply won court cases in the countries they were sued in over the pyramid-style business they run. Since when is it good to brag that a company is ‘allowed’ to do business in a country… lol
How does Donald trump having more law resources than me even apply to this argument. The fact is, with enough money you can get around anything, wake up dude. You call this a rant, I call your comments a business a scam. I’m simply trying to protect the next person from throwing away money. I’m very well knowledged in how MLM, pyramids and Ponzi schemes work. And like I said.. there’s money to be made! I’m just laying down the facts on how it works. You know nothing about business, if you did. You wouldn’t be at ACN claiming they have an ‘awesome’ touch video phone, and other lame statements like “You can buy into peoples negative opinions, which you’ll be buying into their life style.”… what? lifestyle?

My negative opinion is backed by an MBA and a Consulting Career in business transformation. I built my career from scratch and achieved the success I have through hard work, planning, and focus. I have a negative opinion about MLM because of the dishonesty and disillusion they present to people. The dishonesty of ‘You will be rich. I know this person who makes 55k… bla bla’ When a very very small percentage of people actually even profit a dime.

At the end of the day Steve.. lets be honest here. ACN is in the business of signing people up for a charge so they can ‘re-sell’ their services. When was the last time you had to pay someone to get a job. This is what MLM is.. The stats are out there folks, over 90% drop-out rate. If you absolutely can’t get a job, and your great at soliciting people for money then ACN is for you! go for it(As long as you have the $500 to waste). Otherwise I recommend the rest of you find a job somewhere… even a fast-food joint makes you more money statistically. Steve spends his time online looking for the next person to convince to come into the company. He attends seminars where they teach him sales tactics to get around the $500 sign-up problem. Remember, the more people that sign-up under him and he trains to sign-up/sell more services. He makes more money(and not that much).

If ACN is such a profitable market leader in the utility business, then why do they make people that want to work for them pay them $500 to sell their services.

pfft.. It’s not rocket science.

I urge you Steve, to take your skills that you’ve built by working at ACN and focus on a career that will have larger benefits for you and your family down the road.
Why work for a pyramid company when you don’t have to. You would get a larger piece of the pie. Good luck!

Ok, here’s the thing. You don’t have any experience that you have stated building a network marketing company. Things you say give that away. Such as promoting a job. Haahaahaa. Why would you tell people to get a job and go work tell your dead, or dead broke. Humm.. on. The other hand, Traditional businesses own you and your time. I’ve had successful businesses and worked for myself the past 20yrs. To be successful today your investing more hrs than you can ever afford to pay yourself. So what is there. Go sign up for more school. What’s your % of successful college grass? As for 90% quit. Your absolutely correct. Most are not cut out to work for them selves. I on the other had invested 20yrs into businesses that made great money but never allowed any time to have a life or see my family.
I saw ACN and was amazed that anyone that had the desire and committee to making it happen, could build a residual income in a couple yrs part time that exceeds most retirement or SS checks. Worked part time last yr and made over 10k. Around 80+hr work weeks with my traditional businesses. I’m now selling the traditional businesses and focusing on ACN full time. I know what ACN has to offer and its only not going to work if you don’t work it. As far as lying. Why would you say you would join ACN if I showed you a check if you feel so strongly/negative about network marketing. You called me out on not being truthful. I’ve spoken all truths, since the beginning. You on the other had are not. It’s obvious to me you would not join ACN and put in a effort. In order to proove your accusations. But unfortunately that’s the only way you would know what I’ve learned. ACN co founders have more integrity that anyone I’ve ever known. They are god fearing good people that have offered a opportunity to take and run with if you choose. I love the company and how hard we work to help those that choose to have success. I work my Ass off to help everyone in my team. As well as anyone in ACN if they needed my support, even if we are not financially tied. You need to talk to me over the phone and get some facts from someone that is sold out on ACN enough to sale my business to devote my focus to helping more people in ACN have success. Just to be clear. I’ve got nearly 200 business partners. Some quit. Probably 90%. The ones that never actually worked it, never acquired customers, I never recieved a cent from. J know my traditional business cost 50k to start up in the 90’s and the pay back took years with little to know income some months. If everyone treated a network marketing company like ACN the way I treated my traditional business. I would be SVP with multiple 5-7 figured yearly income earners in my tram over the past 10 yrs. Send me your email. I’ll email you to get your number. Try all you want to proove to me ACN don’t work when its working for me and many that work it. Let’s talk on the phone though and get to an agreement.

Your not paying $499. To work for a company. Your paying a $499. Franchise fee to own your own business, that comes with a multi million dollar daily updated webstore. That gives you a license to sell all the services. That’s just a little of what you get.

Bla Bla Bla…. The both of you have spent far too much time blogging about this useless shit… It’s the Logical versus the Believer. ACN is like a church, brainwash all their employees, till they’ve lost all their friends in the process… Then they become closer together because they’reyour family… It’s like an occult. So obvious too!

John your right in one aspect. To much time wasted here. Take it from someone that has owned a global traditional business and worked for everything I have. 20+ yrs 6-7 days per week, self employed! Until 2010, I never had or knew anyone with a experience in network marking.. (direct sales). I have to tell the truth so people hear both sides. Your comments are half truths. The one about people being brain washed.. lol seriously you believe that? That’s the comments that scare people from even trying something. I’ll speak from my experience. The world is all negative for the most part. The ACN environment is all positive. So people coming from tradition businesses, such as real estate, construction, manufacturing.. ect. That worked their butts off, to have the economy pull everything out from under them. They come to ACN and feel they can win again. I’ve received countless hours of support, training and mentorship, the past two years. Most from leaders in ACN that have zero financial gain by helping me. I now feel the same passion to help others that would like to be helped. I honestly love the helping others part of this business. ACN is 10% about the products/services and 90% about the leadership and personal growth to becoming a better leader. You guys that hate on ACN or MLMs need to get on the phone or talk to someone that’s been involved for a while to get some facts. How this experience with ACN has helped me is that I now have more time to spend with the ones I love. My residual part time after two yrs, has made a huge differnce in my life. Actually allowed me to have a life. Over the next 2-3 yrs ill create more free time and more residual income then 90%+ of Americans have. 5 yrs in ACN if you work hard and treat it like it cost you a million dollars to start up. Will get me total financial freedom. So ill leave this statement as my last post, I promise. “Would you rather put 5 yrs hard labor into a company that can give to freedom? Or life with out parole, at a job? Hoping to have something to retire on?”

“Over the next 2-3 yrs ill create more free time and more residual income then 90%+ of Americans have. 5 yrs in ACN if you work hard and treat it like it cost you a million dollars to start up. Will get me total financial freedom. So ill leave this statement as my last post, I promise. “Would you rather put 5 yrs hard labor into a company that can give to freedom?”

Straight from the ACN seminar… All of your logic derives from what ACN has been teaching you.. you said it, ACN is about positivity. Back to the facts, ACN is a pyramid. It’s a business model that capitalizes on ‘recruitment’. In fact it’s commission structure is much less than other MLM. But really, if you were smart about making some money, then wouldn’t you do your research and understand which MLM company out there can I profit the most of?

Just another MLM company that wraps their pyramid in positivity. Over and out.

You want to talk about pyramids? Look at corporate america. That’s a pyramid. No matter how hard an employee works, he will never make more than his manager. And his manager will never make more than his boss. And so on and so on until you reach the CEO making the most money at the top.

But with ACN you have an opportunity to surpass the people above you. If you work harder than your sponsor, you will make more money than them. You’re not stuck in a fixed pyramid like all corporate companies. You don’t get paid based on your past experience or education. The only thing that determines the size of your paycheck is your work ethic.

Tyler, do you really believe that crap they feed you at the ACN seminar? That corporate america is a pyramid structure ? LOL. You, my friend, are brainwashed or stupid. Are you telling me you don’t know any sales people making more money than there managers? Or how about employees making more than shareholders (who actually own some of the company). In fact being in marketing you should know that if you do the hardest work in your MLM and get the most people to sign up you will make the most money. Oh WAIT, YOUR IN A PYRAMID SCHEME AREN’t YOU? LOL.

So do all that hard work, make that money, and if you truly are successful, just know there is a guy relaxing on the beach somewhere who’s part of your upline who you don’t even know relaxing while you make at best a few thousand a year. Good luck. These people are payed at the seminars to say shit they really don’t make. Show me proof.

I don’t blame ACN at all, they are simply taking advantage of theses people and their greed. Everyone wants to be rich and apparently ACN offers that dream for $499. If you are gullible enough to believe this then you deserve whats coming. I had a look at their website and the testimonials from their “Circle of Champions” how all claim to make a lot of money yet have free time to travel raise a family etc. Just reading these testimonials made me laugh, but I’m a non-believer and can smell BS from a mile away.

I am surprised how idiotic and gullible people can be, unfortunately they prey on the weak and uneducated who really don’t know any better. It only takes some common sense to figure out what ACN is really about.

PS Steve, please use spell check and your grammar is horrible (kept distracting me, like reading a 4th graders work, now I understand why you fell for ACN)

You guys must be doing pretty well, the fact you have so much time to blog about something that your comments won’t make a bit of differnce. I believe coming from traditional business, that network marketing is our future. Most all the wealth created in the future will be in direct sales. MLM being taught at Princeton, and other major universities. Instead of trying to voice your opinions, go do real research. You can’t tell everyone that reads this, that a company is a scheme, because you spent a hour looking at their website. This is miss-leading. Although I’m sure everyone posting on here is a expert. In my opinion. If your interested in a business and you believe in what’s offered. You need to find a mentor, someone that’s been successful and copy what they have done. It doesn’t matter what the products or services are, because your not selling them, your selling yourself. I’m with Steve & Tyler on this one.

You should do some “real research” yourself. Princeton University’s course curriculum is offered and is searchable online at http://www.princeton.edu/main/academics/courses. There are no courses being offered in NLM nor is NLM part of any course in their business or marketing departments.

Selling yourself does not change the quality of the product you are selling. Finding a “mentor” does nothing but improve your chances of finding new IBO’s to work for you, but either way, you only make money off selling products.

its so funny reading the negative peoples comments about ACN.
1. we cant post pics and tell you how much we exactly make because that’s enticement
2. we re-direct peoples essential services
3. we teach others to do the same.

4. all the bad news about ACN on google is from people who joined the company and then thought that 500 dollars would make them rich haha…uh it takes work. hard work. to create a business from scratch. i know 110% that ACN works. i’ve been in ACN for 4 months now and i couldn’t ask for a better opportunity in my entire life..

5. i truly believe in ACN with my heart and soul. Thanks to the 4 co-founders for what they have done and allowed so many people to capitalize on.

Thanks for pointing that out! If you want to throw out the all the info in the article based on a typographical error that spell-check missed, feel free. Those with half a brain can then comment as to the relevancy/accuracy of the info instead of trying to find a loophole cop-out #Realitycheck #troll #cantfixstupid

I am current but inactive ACN IBO. Here are some facts:
1) In a federal suit in 2005, ACN reported an annual profit of $500 million. As late as October, 2012, ACN claims to have an annual profit of $500 million. In other words, assuming they are not lying, their business has not grown at all in 6 years.
2) They have been sued several times in multiple countries for improper business practices.
3) According to research done by Newsweek Magazine, the most successful NLM company ever is Herbalife which boasts a whopping 0.39% of IBO’s who turn a profit EVER. Amway, as another example, was found to have less than 0.01% of IBO’s turn a profit.
4) In the time I have been with ACN, I have found literally one person out of dozens of potential customers whom I was able to save money with ACN services.
5) ACN’s big new service in the last few years is energy – gas and electricity. Having converted my electricity to XOOM Energy in MA, my electric bills have not once been less than that of the local utility, and at worst were 65% higher than what I would have payed with the “evil” local monopoly.
6) Customer support for ACN’s wireless company Flash Wireless is online chat only. Yes, a wireless telephony company has NO telephone customer support.
7) It is a statistical fact that you have a 2.7% chance of hitting a single number on a roulette wheel at a casino. Given the statistics uncovered by Newsweek, you have an almost 700% greater chance of making money by putting $499 on a single number on roulette wheel than you do in turning a profit in an NLM.
8) Some quotes that are commonly thrown around at ACN seminars, conventions, etc. include “50% of all Americans earning at $1,000,000 annually have done so through NLM’s” and “85% of women earning over $100,000 annually do so through NLM’s.” A quick Google search will reveal no authoritative source for these statistics, and there is a good reason for that: the quotes are false.
9) Statistical analysis of traditional, illegal pyramid schemes based on a 1-2-4-8 pyramid structure (4 levels deep) shows that >10% of participants turn a profit. A pyramid structure 5 levels deep boasts under 10% success. Since the ACN compensation plan is 7 levels deep and must be at least 4 direct IBO’s wide by the 4th compensation level (out of 6), it is statistically impossible for more than 2% of participants to turn a profit.

Yes, there are people who make money in ACN. I personally know one person who made over $30,000 in his first year. However, statistics do not lie. The only real product that you have to sell in ACN, or in any NLM for that matter, is your network of potential customers and business partners. Those few people who not only have great networks but also have people in their network who themselves have great, completely separate and distinct, networks can and certainly do do well in ACN. The percentage chance of success is NOT 0%. There WILL be people who are successful in ACN. The issue is only how often people are that successful, and the actual percentage chance that any given person will turn a profit is less than 1%.

ACN, like all multi level marketing businesses is not for everyone. Only dedicated leaders actually succeed in this business environment. Most people who join ACN, and many other MLM businesses, quit after the first few months because they didn’t get rich… This is one of the hardest jobs because you have to work very hard to build your empire. But is anything worth doing easy? Typically, no… ACN is not a scam, this business opportunity has already made thousands of people financially free. You need the motivation and the leaders/mentors to make your dreams become reality. My team is very successful because we help each other every step of the way. We don’t just sell websites and pocket bonus money, only to leave our new teammates lost. I dedicate every spare minute of my time to making sure my team succeeds, because if they achieve their dreams I achieve mine. Donald J. Trump is a billionaire, he has enough money to last many generations. Do you really think he endorses ACN because he got paid to? No, he endorses us because he recognizes the exemplary leadership qualities our company has and instills in others.

Donald Trump, Warren Buffet, et. al. are all often interested in NLM companies for a very good reason: they turn a profit. Note I did not say the IBO’s in NLM companies turn a profit – they almost always do NOT turn a profit. The company itself does. In addition to the products that the NLM sells through its IBO’s, the company also makes money on training materials, membership/startup fees, conference registrations, etc. It should be noted that no NLM company EVER makes their financials public without being legally forced to, and even at that they often attempt to block such exposure during lawsuits. The reason for this is very simple: if they ever exposed the percentages of their overall revenue as a function of sales vs. training materials, membership/startup fees, conference registrations, etc. no-one would ever join a NLM again, because those numbers would reveal how slanted their bottom lines are to the latter revenue generators, which do nothing but exploit the IBO’s, vs. actual product/service sales.

NLM’s are traps. Well over 95% of participants generate no profits for themselves and sign up to become a customer of the NLM themselves (all in the name of “become your own customer”). This means that, at the very least, the NLM makes a profit off the startup fee, all initial signups for their products/services of all new IBO’s (not including certain setup/registration fees like new accounts with ACN digital phone or Flash Wireless) and any ancillary “new IBO” expenses like their first convention, training materials, marketing materials, etc. ACN in particular also adds on other small fees like a check-writing fee of $3.99 for every commissions check they cut for IBO’s. In other words, every who joins ACN is guaranteed to spend at least $500 and usually around $1,000 total before they drop out. All for doing almost no work, because the IBO’s themselves are all doing the work trying each to build their own business within the NLM.

Summary: NLM’s are money-makers with little up-front cost for ownership. Strictly in terms of bottom-line, most NLM’s are solid investments for anyone who has lots of money already, i.e. Donald Trump, Warren Buffet, etc.

NLM’s offer nothing but an opportunity, one that you pay for, because you can make money. Putting $499 on one number on a roulette wheel is also an “opportunity”, because you can make money. Buying 5 kilo’s of crack off a drug dealer that you can break down and resell is also an “opportunity”, because you can make money. Are any of these worth their initial investment? Objective analysis of statistical data says “No” to all three and says so very convincingly.

Fundamentally, ACN is a system of getting 60 Customer Points to achieve the full 10% residual on your billing volume. VOIP Home Phone (3 Points), Internet (1 Point), Cell (2-4 Points), Satellite TV (2 Points), Hydro (1 Point) Gas (1 Point) Water Heater Rental (1 Point) Home Security (2-4 Points) and Merchant Services Credit Card Processors (1-3 Points). You can accomplish the 60 points with any combination of services. Until you’ve accomplished this you are only making 1-5% residual on your billing volume and your residual is small. That’s why most people focus on recruiting, since the TCAB Bonuses are so immediate and lucrative – but fleeting.

After 4 months I’m only at about 17 points between my own home and the few relatives I’ve taken the time to talk to. I learned the products and took about 3 days to visit 3 relatives asking if I could audit their bills. I wasn’t able to save them money on every service obviously, but more times than not I got them on one or two services where I could (i.e. one landline was $57 a month with no long distance, and we got it down to $30 with VOIP). One of my uncles, once I explained how it works, told me he’d switch everything for me once the contracts expired because he wanted to support me and my goals. I’m going this weekend to do his Home Security and another cell phone (woo!)

Commercially I’m talking to the owners of a few restaurants I frequent and one privately owned movie theatre. We have really competitive products in terms of Business energy with peak protection (businesses opperate during peak rate hours, so they have huge potential savings with us long term), and and merchant services (where we guarantee them savings on their monthly service charges over our competitors, or ACN has to send them $100 VISA Gift Card for their time.)

The way I run my business is a use the Opportunity meetings you’ve all seen as a filter for mindset – is this person easily disuaded by Trumps association with our company or by the historical stigma associated with network marketing, or are they intrigued? How eager are they to sign up? Once I have a short list of intelligent, ambitious open minded but critical people, I sit them down and we go through all the finer details and intricacies of the business, and structure a plan with them based on their personal contact list (family, friends, business owners they may know etc). Basically, I make sure everyone I sponsor is completely informed on what constitutes success, how much effort and time it may take to achieve it (60 Points and 2 equally as apt business partners who can achieve the same goal over time.)

So what does 60 points look like – let’s assume 5 house holds, 15 points each (Home Phone $30, Internet $40, TV $50, Cellphone $50, Cellphone $50, Hydro $100, Gas $100, Water Heater $20, and Home Security $30) – that’s about $470 per household in billing volumes or $2350 total monthly. If you make 10% every month those bills are paid, you make $235 residually without any recruiting! Your $499 is redeemed in a matter of months even if you do nothing else moving forward.

Now to get wealthy you obviously want to sponsor people and override their billing volume as well. The recruting part now comes down to your personal ethics, and this is the disparity we see in peoples opinions of the busines. Is your sponsor doing their due dilligence and making sure you’re informed, trained and supported? Or are they signing you up at the first chance? With any network marketing opportunity, there are no objective filters to someone who wants to do the business – and the unfortunate truth is most people that do it are not prepared or unformed enough to accomplish that goal of 60 points. They don’t take the time to learn the products or how to properly communicate their value to their potential customers, or they allow a few rejections to justify giving up all together.

So the question really is: If the statistics show you know that 90% of the people that are sponsored into your business whether directly or indirectly, will quit before they put enough time to recoup their investment – can you still participate with a good conscience? For me, I can simply because I won’t allow someone to join my team until they’re informed. It’s definitely slowed the growth of my business as compared to my peers, but in the end I don’t want to work with anyone that doesnt’ have the right mindset to suceed.

“3-5 Year part time, minimal investment busines plan, treat it like a Plan B and never stop doing what you’re doing full time until this generates enough income to replace it.” – I’m confident that if I perpetuate that culture in my organization, my teams stats will not be representative of the norm.

I realized it was a scam when the person who signed me up did not know anything about the products and services. They were only worried about me qualifying, recruiting more people and going to the conventions. ACN is a scam, I experienced it first hand! How is the U.S. Government still allowing this company to function?